Leafs prepare for 35 games in 69 days

Mark Masters

SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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- The Leafs surged into the playoff race during the first half of the season despite icing a rookie-laden roster, but Frederik Andersen warns things are about to get tougher for the young group. "The last little bit teams are not underestimating us anymore," the goalie observed. "I think they know we've been playing well so it's not going to be a surprise ... so we got to be ready for that." Toronto will play 35 games in 69 days to wrap up the regular season. "The battle for every inch gets harder and harder and until you go through it you don't know," said Mike Babcock. "In saying all that, we got competitive young guys who want to be good. You know, I'm not concerned about their energy one bit or any of that. Let's just play. Let's get excited and get playing." The coach hopes the last game before the all-star break – a loss in Philadelphia – will serve as a good reminder of what it will take down the stretch. "In the second half of the game, Philly had more will than we did," Babcock said. "In order to win these games you got to do things right and then you have to play with determination so that's our focus. We don't have to worry about two months or any of that, just worry about the game you're playing."

- The condensed schedule will be hard on everyone and Andersen, just like Toronto's rookies, will be entering uncharted territory. He is on pace to easily surpass his previous career high of 53 regular season starts. And yet, the Denmark native doesn't seem all that concerned. "Now we can get into a good rhythm just playing pretty much every other night, done with these breaks," Andersen said with a small smile, "so that's going to be nice to finally get in a good rhythm." Tuesday's game in Dallas will be the 40th start of the season for Andersen. "Now the games get more and more like playoff games and those are the fun kind games that you live to play in," he said.

- The Leafs will play five games in five different cities during an eight-day span starting Tuesday in Dallas. It's just the start of a very busy second half of the schedule that includes seven back-to-back situations. "The key is just managing things," said James van Riemsdyk, "making sure you're taking the time to recover and prepare for the next game especially since we have a lot of guys who probably haven't played this many games before. It can be a grind. It's pretty much every other night right down the stretch here." The 27-year-old is known for his regimented routines on and off the ice. So what will he change to cope with the condensed schedule? "Away from the rink I'll try to maybe just relax a little bit more and not do as [many] different things around the city," van Riemsdyk explained, "more just hanging around your condo and taking advantage of your rest time. That's going to be crucial in a year like this."

Van Riemsdyk has been able to keep up with the kids matching Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner with 39 points to lead the Leafs. "I think James is really coming with his game," said Babcock, "and I think he's got a lot of upside yet. [His hands are as good as] there are in a 15-foot area. He's getting heavier on the cycle and more determined in that area, which leads to more goals. He's a committed guy." Babcock also highlighted a specific reason why JVR might be extra motivated as the playoffs grow closer. "His brother has his name on the Cup, right."

Trevor van Riemsdyk won the Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2015. The van Riemsdyk boys are very close and James and Trevor actually spent part of the all-star break watching their younger brother, Brendan van Riemsdyk, play for the University of New Hampshire. "We got our whole family together, which doesn't happen too often so it was nice to have a few days like that," said JVR, who also plans to catch up with Brendan on Friday when the Leafs have a scheduled day off in Boston.

- The NHL's potential participation in the 2018 Olympics was a hot topic during the all-star weekend something that was very much on van Riemsdyk's radar. "I think Jonathan Toews said something like, 'It would be a shame if our sport wasn't represented the way it could be on a stage like that,' and that pretty much echoes the way I feel." van Riemsdyk represented the United States at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi and currently serves as Toronto's player representative. "Obviously, things need to be figured out logistically so hopefully we can get all that sorted out."

- Morgan Rielly practiced with his teammates on Monday for the first time since sustaining a right ankle injury on Dec. 17. TSN's Kristen Shilton has more details on Rielly's status here.

Lines at Monday's practice:

Hyman-Smith^-Brown
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Marner
Komarov-Kadri-Nylander
Martin-Gauthier-Soshnikov
Leivo

Rielly-Zaitsev
Gardiner-Carrick
Marincin-Polak
Hunwick-Corrado

Andersen
McElhinney

^ Note: Following his all-star appearance, Matthews was excused from Monday's practice. He travelled from Los Angeles to Dallas where he will rejoin the Leafs on Tuesday.

* Power play units at Monday's practice:

Gardiner
Leivo-Brown-Nylander
Komarov

Zaitsev
Marner-Kadri-Bozak
van Riemsdyk